Welcome to Only Bitters ‑ Cocktail Merchants
We are your cocktail merchants, with Australia's broadest selection of quality ingredients and tools for the cocktail enthusiast. We have lovingly compiled a curated range of bitters, syrups, liqueurs, vermouth, and barware to provide plenty of inspiration for your next round.
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Celebrations Continue! The House of Angostura 200th Anniversary Bitters Available Again
We got to help celebrate a milestone birthday with The House of Angostura last year and were so excited for the opportunity to help celebrate. When we found out that there was still some stock left, we jumped on the chance to help get them in the hands of people that love bitters! In celebration of their 200th Anniversary The House of Angostura have created a very limited edition bitters to celebrate this historic milestone. Introducing Angostura 200 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Bitters! Blended with a base of Angostura’s aged rum, Angelica root, Roman wormwood, nutmeg and other select botanicals, the resulting bitters are packed with remarkable depth and flavour. Sweet anise and cardamom upfront followed by warming spice, mint and a drying bitterness. Only 120,000 bottles were made in this limited batch and we have gotten our hands on a tiny amount! To get your hands on a bottle of this limited edition bottling, we are running a promotion. Spend $100 or more on a purchase of Angostura Aromatic Bitters 200ml , Angostura Aromatic Bitters 473ml , Angostura Orange Bitters 100ml or Amaro di Angostura 700ml either online at Only Bitters or in person at our Melbourne store, The Bitters Lab , and you’ll receive a bottle of Angostura Bitters 200 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Bitters! * Shop Eligible Angostura Products Here *Promotion will run while stocks last. Terms of this promotion are subject to change at the discretion of The Only Group Pty Ltd. Promotion available online through onlybitters.com or in person at The Bitters Lab.
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Our Super Juice Guide & Calculators
What is Super Juice? Super juice is an innovative cocktail component that uses fresh citrus and powdered acids to stretch your juice up to four times further than traditional squeezing. Instead of relying solely on the liquid contents of a fruit, super juice uses natural acids to extract the deep, complex aromatic oils locked inside the skin. By combining these oil-extracted acids with water and fresh juice, you create a balanced, shelf-stable citrus alternative. Why Use It? Massive Cost Savings: Stretches a single piece of fruit to yield up to 4x more liquid, slashing your fresh citrus spending by roughly 75%. Drastic Waste Reduction: Utilises the flavourful husks and peels that are traditionally thrown away, heavily reducing organic waste. Extended Shelf Life: Stays vibrant and crisp in the fridge for up to a full week without oxidising or turning bitter, and can be frozen for up to 6 months. Consistency: Standardises your ratios so your cocktails taste perfectly identical every single night. Citrus Variety Peel Weight Citric Acid Malic Acid Water Lime Lemon Orange Grapefruit Yuzu Kumquat g --- --- --- Instructions for Use Peel the citrus (except kumquat—use the whole fruit), then weigh the peels. Reserve the peeled fruit for juicing. Enter weight into the input box next to the chosen citrus type. Put them in a sanitised jar with the appropriate amount of citric acid (and malic for lime, kumquat, and yuzu) . Alternatively, vacuum seal the peel and acid mix. Shake well and leave it for up to two hours . This will give you “oleo citrate” , which will give our super juice acidity and citrus flavour. Place everything from the jar (including the peels) into a blender and add water according to the calculator above. Tip: rinse the inside of the jar with the measured water to get out all the oleo citrate. Juice the peeled citrus and add the juice into the blender as well. Blend for half a minute then strain through a cheesecloth/oil filter. Bottle the super juice in a sanitised container. Keep it in the fridge and use it within a week . Alternatively, freeze for up to 6 months .
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All About Acids
For decades, getting a cocktail to pop meant one thing: reaching for the citrus press. If you wanted sour, you squeezed a lime. But today’s craft cocktail movement has ushered in a new era of "acid adjusting" and crystal-clear drinks, all thanks to powdery, isolated organic acids. By dissolving specific food-grade acids into water or juices, bartenders can tweak flavour profiles, mimic citrus without adding pulp, and keep drinks perfectly clear. Citric Acid : The Classic Brightener Where It’s Found: Lemons, limes, grapefruits. The Flavour Profile: Sharp, immediate, and fiercely refreshing. It’s the baseline sourness most of us expect in a cocktail. How To Use It: Citric acid is the backbone of "fake lime juice" or "buffered citrus solutions." By dissolving citric acid powder into water, you get the aggressive sourness of fresh lemon juice without the cloudy pulp or the ticking clock of spoilage. It allows bartenders to create crystal-clear, shelf-stable Daiquiris or Margaritas. Malic Acid : The Crisp, Green Punch Where It’s Found: Green apples, rhubarb, grapes. The Flavour Profile: A lingering, sour-apple tang that hits the sides of your tongue and stays there a bit longer than citric acid. How Bartenders Use It: To engineer a "lime juice" proxy, they rarely use citric acid alone. Limes actually contain a blend of both citric and malic acids. Combining them produces a much more realistic lime substitute. It’s also incredibly useful for intensifying fruit flavours in cordials or highballs without watering them down. Lactic Acid : The Smooth, Creamy Sour Where It’s Found: Yogurt, sourdough bread, fermented foods. The Flavour Profile: Mild, soft, and distinctly milky or savoury. It offers a rounder acidity that lacks the sharp bite of fruit acids. How Bartenders Use It: Lactic acid adds a velvety mouthfeel and a gentle sour tang to drinks. It is fantastic for savoury cocktails, tropical drinks that feature coconut, or clarified milk punches where you want a creamy texture alongside a subtle, structured brightness. Tartaric Acid : The Heavyweight Drying Agent Where It’s Found: Grapes, tamarind, bananas. The Flavour Profile: Intensely tart, sharp, and mouth-watering, with a metallic or astringent edge that mimics the dry finish of wine. How Bartenders Use It: Tartaric acid is the secret to building "wine-forward" characteristics into a drink without opening a bottle of Cabernet. It provides an excellent structural spine for stirred, spirit-forward cocktails, adding complexity and a long, dry finish that cuts beautifully through heavy sugars or bitter liqueurs. Shop Our Range of Acid Powders Here Quick Reference: The Bartender's Acid Guide Acid Taste Profile Best Used For... Citric Sharp, bright, aggressive Crystal-clear citrus substitutes (Margaritas, Gimlets) Malic Crisp, green-apple snap Revving up orchard fruit flavours; blending with citric to mimic lime Lactic Creamy, soft, savoury Savoury drinks, tropical builds, adding velvety mouthfeel Tartaric Deep, wine-like, astringent Stirred drinks needing a dry, structural finish; mimicking grapes Putting Acids to Work While understanding the distinct profiles of citric, malic, lactic, and tartaric acids lays the conceptual groundwork, the real magic happens when you move these powders to the back bar. Transitioning from abstract chemical traits to practical mixology allows you to bypass the constraints of traditional citrus altogether. By precisely blending these isolated acids in water, you can construct "fake" lime and lemon juices that mimic the sharp bite and structural balance of fresh juice—completely clear, entirely shelf-stable, and measured to the exact gram for flawless cocktail consistency. Lime Acid Solution Fresh lime juice is roughly 6% total acidity, driven by a heavy dose of citric acid but uniquely rounded out by the sharp, green-apple snap of malic acid. Ingredients & Tools 94g Filtered Water 4g Food-Grade Citric Acid Powder 2g Food-Grade Malic Acid Powder *Optional: 10 Dashes of Lime Bitters Tools: A digital scale that reads to 0.1 grams and a small glass bottle . Lemon Acid Solution Fresh lemon juice is slightly less complex than lime, sitting at about 5% to 6% total acidity. It is overwhelmingly dominant in citric acid, with only a tiny fraction of malic. Ingredients & Tools 94g Filtered Water 5.7g Food-Grade Citric Acid Powder 0.3g Food-Grade Malic Acid Powder *Optional: 10 Dashes of Lemon Bitters Tools: A digital scale that reads to 0.1 grams and a small glass bottle . Method of Preparation 1. Weigh the Liquids and Powders Place a sanitised glass bottle on your scale and tare it to zero. Carefully weigh out your water first, then add the exact grams of citric and malic acid powders. 2. Agitate to Dissolve Cap the bottle and shake vigorously, or use a milk frother/blender. Because these acids are highly water-soluble, they will completely dissolve into a crystal-clear liquid within a minute or two at room temperature. *3. Incorporate Aroma (Optional) Flavour is 80% smell. Because isolated acids are completely odourless, adding some citrus bitters helps mimic the expression of citrus peels. Shake intensely after adding to disperse the bitters. Storage & Usage: Store these solutions in sanitised glass bottles in the fridge. Because there are no fruit sugars or solids, they will easily last months. Use them in a 1:1 ratio exactly as you would fresh juice (e.g. 30ml of your lime solution for 30ml of fresh lime in a Daiquiri). Using the same preparation method as above, try these additional ways to utilise acid in your drinks: Champagne Acid Solution Introduces a refined acidity, use by the dash or ½ tsp. 94g Filtered Water 3g Food-Grade Lactic Acid Powder 3g Food-Grade Tartaric Acid Powder Citric Acid Solution Use to adjust juices and syrups or add by the drop in drinks. 100g Filtered Water 25g Food-Grade Citric Acid Powder Malic Acid Solution Use to adjust juices and syrups or add by the drop in drinks. 90g Filtered Water 10g Food-Grade Malic Acid Powder Lactic Acid Solution Use to adjust juices and syrups or add by the drop in drinks. 90g Filtered Water 10g Food-Grade Lactic Acid Powder
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